Control point, image forming apparatus, and method of controlling printing

ABSTRACT

A control point includes a communication interface to search for one or more image forming apparatuses using digital living network alliance (DLNA), a user interface unit through which at least one piece of content is selected for printing using a user interface of the control point, and through which an image forming apparatus is selected from among the searched image forming apparatuses to perform printing, a DLNA stack unit to set a connection policy regarding connection to the selected image forming apparatus, and to selectively control the DLNA connection status to the selected image forming apparatus according to the connection policy, and a controller to control the communication interface to transmit print data corresponding to the selected content-for-printing and the connection policy to the selected image forming apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under U.S.C. §119 (a)from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0118996, filed on Dec. 3,2009, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present general inventive concept relates to a control print, animage forming apparatus, and a method of controlling printing. Moreparticularly, the present general inventive concept relates to a controlpoint, an image forming apparatus, and a method of controlling printingcapable of reducing power consumption of the control point byselectively disconnecting a digital living network alliance (DLNA)connection between the control point and the image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, afacsimile, or a multi function peripheral (MFP) which integrates thefunctions of the copier, printer, facsimile, etc., operates to print theprint data generated by a terminal such as a computer onto a recordingsheet.

Particularly, recent models of image forming apparatuses supportingdigital living network alliance (DLNA) standard are able to receive theprint data from a variety of DLNA apparatuses, as well as from aconventional terminal apparatus such as a computer.

The DLNA standard applies to the digital information technologyindustry, and is focused on the interoperability of the devices to sharemusic, photos, videos, or the like. The DLNA aims to achieve convergencebetween related industries, and to establish a platform which isinteroperable based on the existent standards of these industries. TheDLNA works by defining guidelines for industries based on the UniversalPlug ‘n’ Play (“UPnP”) standard which is applied widely among themanufacturers of electronic devices, personal computers, and wirelessdevices.

With a DLNA device, users can use a variety of content of the DLNAnetwork, and output desired content through an image forming apparatusconnected to the DLNA network.

Meanwhile, according to the conventional way of printing in a DLNAenvironment, a wireless link has to be maintained between the DLNAdevice and the DLNA image forming apparatus until a print job iscompleted. This raises a problem, since if the DLNA device is a portableterminal, the terminal keeps consuming battery power in order tomaintain the wireless link. However, the DLNA does not always have tokeep a wireless link with the image forming apparatus. For example, theDLNA does not need to keep a wireless link with the image formingapparatus if the DLNA device does not store the content being currentlyprinted. Accordingly, a method is necessary which enables a selectiveshifting of connection status between the DLNA device and the DLNA imageforming apparatus during a print job processing

SUMMARY

The present general inventive concept provides a control point, an imageforming apparatus, and a method of controlling printing, capable ofsaving power consumption of the control point by selectivelydisconnecting a wireless communication connection between the controlpoint and the image forming apparatus.

Additional features and utilities of the present general inventiveconcept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and,in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned bypractice of the general inventive concept

The foregoing and/or other features and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may be achieved by providing a control point (CP)connectable to one or more image forming apparatuses using digitalliving network alliance (DLNA), the control point including acommunication interface (CI) to search the one or more image formingapparatuses using the DLNA, a user interface (UI) unit through which atleast one piece of content is selected for printing using a userinterface of the control point, and through which an image formingapparatus is selected from among the searched image forming apparatusesto perform printing, a DLNA stack unit to set a connection policyregarding connection to the selected image forming apparatus and toselectively control the DLNA connection status to the selected imageforming apparatus according to the connection policy, and a controllerto control the communication interface to transmit print datacorresponding to the selected content-for-printing and the connectionpolicy to the selected image forming apparatus.

The connection policy may include at least one of a manner ofterminating connection, a time to start connection, a time to endconnection, a time interval between connected status (ON) anddisconnected status (OFF), and reception information of the controlpoint.

The reception information of the control point may include addressinformation of the control point to receive a notification of print jobcompletion.

The DLNA stack unit keeps disconnected status (OFF) until a notificationof print job completion is received from the selected image formingapparatus according to the connection policy, or periodically connects(ON) and disconnects (OFF) to receive the notification of print jobcompletion from the selected image forming apparatus.

The communication interface receives a response to the transmittedconnection policy from the selected image forming apparatus.

The DLNA stack unit disconnects the DLNA connection from the selectedimage forming apparatus after print data regarding thecontent-for-printing is transmitted to the selected image formingapparatus if the content-for-printing is stored in an external controlpoint, or disconnects the DLNA connection from the selected imageforming apparatus after the content-for-printing is transmitted to theselected image forming apparatus, if the content-for-printing is storedin the control point.

The DLNA stack unit re-connects the DLNA connection to the selectedimage forming apparatus if a predetermined time elapses from the time atwhich the DLNA connection is disconnected from the selected imageforming apparatus, or if a short message service (SMS) is received fromthe selected image forming apparatus.

The foregoing and/or other features and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing an image formingapparatus connectable to one or more control points (CP) using digitalliving network alliance (DLNA), which may include a communicationinterface (CI) to receive from the control point a connection policyregarding the control point and print data regardingcontent-for-printing, a DLNA stack unit to control the communicationinterface to receive the content-for-printing corresponding to the printdata, an image forming unit to print the content-for-printing based onthe received print data, and a controller to notify completion ofprinting the content-for-printing based on the received connectionpolicy.

The image forming apparatus may additionally include a short messageservice (SMS) transmitting unit to transmit an SMS message. Theconnection policy includes an SMS reception address of the controlpoint, and the controller controls the SMS transmitting unit to transmitan SMS message to indicate that printing of the content-for-printing iscompleted, based on the SMS reception address.

The connection policy may include at least one of time information ofthe control point including a time to start connection, a time to endconnection, and a time interval between connected status (ON) anddisconnected status (OFF), and the controller may transmit anotification of print job completion regarding the content-for-printingbased on the time information of the control point.

The controller may check a DLNA connection status of the control pointbased on the time information of the control point.

The foregoing and/or other features and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing a method ofcontrolling printing of a control point (CP) which is connectable to oneor more image forming apparatuses using digital living network alliance(DLNA), which may include selecting one or more content-for-printingusing a user interface (UI) of the control point, searching for one ormore image forming apparatuses using the DLNA, selecting an imageforming apparatus to perform printing from among the searched imageforming apparatuses, setting a connection policy regarding connection tothe selected image forming apparatus, transmitting print data and theconnection policy corresponding to the selected content-for-printing tothe selected image forming apparatus, and selectively controlling theDLNA connection to the selected image forming apparatus according to theconnection policy.

The connection policy may include at least one of a manner ofterminating connection, a time to start connection, a time to endconnection, a time interval between connected status (ON) anddisconnected status (OFF), and a reception information of the controlpoint.

The reception information of the control point may include addressinformation of the control point to receive a notification of print jobcompletion.

The step of selectively connecting the DLNA connection may includekeeping disconnected status (OFF) until a notification of print jobcompletion is received from the selected image forming apparatusaccording to the connection policy, or periodically connecting (ON) anddisconnecting (OFF) the connection to receive the notification of printjob completion from the selected image forming apparatus.

The method may additionally include receiving a response to thetransmitted connection policy from the selected image forming apparatus.

The step of selectively controlling the DLNA connection may includedisconnecting the DLNA connection from the selected image formingapparatus after print data regarding the content-for-printing istransmitted to the selected image forming apparatus if thecontent-for-printing is stored in an external control point, ordisconnecting the DLNA connection from the selected image formingapparatus after the content-for-printing is transmitted to the selectedimage forming apparatus if the content-for-printing is stored in thecontrol point.

The step of selectively controlling the DLNA connection may includere-connecting the DLNA connection to the selected image formingapparatus if a predetermined time elapses from the time at which theDLNA connection is disconnected from the selected image formingapparatus or if a short message service (SMS) is received from theselected image forming apparatus.

The foregoing and/or other features and utilities of the present generalinventive concept may be achieved by providing a method of controllingprinting of an image forming apparatus connectable to one or morecontrol points (CP) using digital living network alliance (DLNA), whichmay include receiving from the control point a print request regardingcontent-for-printing including a connection policy regarding the controlpoint, receiving print data regarding the content-for-printing and thecontent-for-printing, printing the content-for-printing based on thereceived print data, and notifying completing the printing of thecontent-for-printing based on the received connection policy.

The connection policy may include a short message service (SMS)reception address of the control point, and the notifying may includetransmitting an SMS message to indicate that printing of thecontent-for-printing is completed, based on the SMS reception address.

The connection policy may include at least one of time information ofthe control point including time to start connection, time to endconnection, and time interval between connected status (ON) anddisconnected status (OFF), and notifying may include transmitting anotification of print job completion regarding the content-for-printingbased on the time information of the control point.

The method may additionally include checking a DLNA connection status ofthe control point based on the time information of the control point.

Features and/or utilities of the present general inventive concept mayalso be realized by a method of performing an imaging operation in adigital living network alliance (DLNA) network including a control pointand at least one image forming apparatus, the method includinggenerating a print request at the control point, transmitting the printrequest and a connection policy to the image forming apparatus,controlling the connection between the control point and the imageforming apparatus according to the connection policy, and transmittingprint data to the image forming apparatus.

Controlling the connection between the control point and the imageforming apparatus may include, when the print data is transmitted to theimage forming apparatus from a device external to the control point,disconnecting the control point from the image forming apparatus aftertransmitting the print request and connection policy, and, when theprint data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus from thecontrol point, maintaining a data connection between the control pointand the image forming apparatus during a corresponding print operationof the image forming apparatus.

Disconnecting the control point from the image forming apparatus furthermay include re-connecting the control point to the image formingapparatus at predetermined intervals of time to receive data from theimage forming apparatus regarding the corresponding print operation.

The method may further include, when the print data is transmitted tothe image forming apparatus from a device external to the control point,generating an SMS message regarding a completion of the correspondingprint operation when the corresponding print operation is completed.

Features and/or utilities of the present general inventive concept mayalso be realized by a control point of a digital living network alliance(DLNA) network including at least one image forming apparatus includinga user interface to initiate a print operation, a DLNA stack unit togenerate a connection policy to control a DLNA connection between thecontrol point and the image forming apparatus, a communication interfaceto transmit to the image forming apparatus the connection policy andprint data corresponding to the print operation, and a controller tocontrol the communication interface to transmit the connection policy anprint data to the image forming apparatus and to control a connectionstatus between the communication interface and the image formingapparatus according to the connection policy.

The controller may control the communication interface such that whenthe print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus from adevice external to the control point, the controller disconnects thecontrol point from the image forming apparatus after transmitting theprint request and connection policy, and when the print data istransmitted to the image forming apparatus from the control point, thecontroller maintains a data connection between the control point and theimage forming apparatus during a corresponding print operation of theimage forming apparatus.

After disconnecting the control point from the image forming apparatus,the controller may further re-connect the control point to, anddisconnect the control point from, the image forming apparatus atpredetermined intervals of time to receive data from the image formingapparatus regarding the corresponding print operation.

When the print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus from adevice external to the control point, the communication interface mayreceive an SMS message regarding a completion of the corresponding printoperation when the corresponding print operation is completed.

Features and/or utilities of the present general inventive concept mayalso be realized by an image-forming apparatus of a digital livingnetwork alliance (DLNA) network including at least one control pointincluding an image forming unit to from an image corresponding to aprint operation, a communication interface to receive from the controlpoint a connection policy corresponding to the print operation, a DLNAstack unit to receive the connection policy from the communicationinterface, and a controller to control operation of the image formingunit and to control a DLNA connection between the image formingapparatus and the control point based on the connection policy receivedfrom the control point.

The controller may control the communication interface such that whenthe print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus from adevice external to the control point, the controller disconnects theimage-forming apparatus from the control point after receiving theconnection policy from the control point, and when the print data istransmitted to the image forming apparatus from the control point, thecontroller maintains a data connection between the control point and theimage forming apparatus during a corresponding print operation of theimage forming apparatus.

After disconnecting the image-forming apparatus from the control point,the controller may further re-connect the image-forming apparatus to,and disconnect the image-forming apparatus from, the control point atpredetermined intervals of time to receive data from the image formingapparatus regarding the corresponding print operation.

The predetermined intervals of time may be defined by the connectionpolicy. The image-forming apparatus may further include an SMStransmitting unit to generate and transmit an SMS message regarding acompletion of the corresponding print operation when the correspondingprint operation is completed.

Features and/or utilities of the present general inventive concept mayalso be realized by a digital living network alliance (DLNA) networkincluding at least one control point and at least one image-formingapparatus. The control point may include a user interface to initiate aprint operation, a first DLNA stack unit to generate a connection policyto control a DLNA connection between the control point and the imageforming apparatus, a first communication interface to transmit to theimage forming apparatus the connection policy and print datacorresponding to the print operation, and a first controller to controlthe communication interface to transmit the connection policy an printdata to the image forming apparatus and to control a connection statusbetween the communication interface and the image forming apparatusaccording to the connection policy. The image forming apparatus mayinclude an image forming unit to from an image corresponding to theprint operation, a second communication interface to receive from thecontrol point the connection policy corresponding to the printoperation, a second DLNA stack unit to receive the connection policyfrom the communication interface, and a second controller to controloperation of the image forming unit and to control a DLNA connectionbetween the image forming apparatus and the control point based on theconnection policy received from the control point.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other features and utilities of the present generalinventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated fromthe following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a printing control systemaccording to the present general inventive concept;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate examples of connection policies which aregenerated according to the present general inventive concept;

FIGS. 3 to 6 illustrate image forming methods according to embodimentsof the present general inventive concept;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method of controlling printing acontrol point according to an embodiment of the present generalinventive concept;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method of controlling printing animage forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentgeneral inventive concept; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method of communicating between acontrol point and an image-forming apparatus according to an embodimentof the present general inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentgeneral inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the likeelements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain thepresent general inventive concept by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a printing control systemaccording to the present general inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 1, a print control system 1000 includes a controlpoint (CP), or control point apparatus, 100 and an image formingapparatus 200.

The control point 100 may connect to at least one image formingapparatus 200, and request the image forming apparatus 200 to print outcontent-for-printing upon receiving a print command from a user. Thecontrol point 100 can selectively control a digital living networkalliance (DLNA) connection to the image forming apparatus 200 accordingto a wireless communication connection policy (‘connection policy’)corresponding to the location of storing the content-for-printing.

Herein, the control point 100 is a DLNA-compatible device that can sharedata with the other control points (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) in the DLNAnetwork, and can connect wirelessly to the DLNA image forming apparatus200 in the DLNA network to output content. By way of example, DLNAdevice may be one of digital media server (DMS), digital media player(DMP), and a digital media renderer (DMR) specified by the DLNAguidelines. The data, content, or media may be any type of digital dataincluding audio or visual files or information, control signals tocontrol different devices of the network, addresses, print data, displaydata, timing information, html-formatted data, text, or any other typeof data that may be transmitted via the DLNA network. In thespecification below, with reference to a printing operation, “content”may refer to the text, graphics, and photographs that are to be printed,and “print data” may refer to all the data that allows the image-formingapparatus to print the content, such as format data, shading, colordata, page and document data, etc.

The DMS is a media server device (MSD) in the UPnP AV area, to providedigital media content. The DMS device searches digital media contentitems in the DMS so that a user of the DLNA network can display ordistribute the digital media content. By way of example, the DMS caninclude a VCR, CD player, DVD player, MP3 player, set-top box (STB), TVtuner, radio tuner, or TV.

The DMR, such as a TV or stereo speaker, operates to execute or outputthe selected media. The DMP is a DMR that includes a UPnP control pointand acts as both a media renderer device (MRD) and a media rendercontrol point (MRCP). In other words, the DMP may select media contentand execute or output the selected media content.

Specifically, the control point 100 may include a communicationinterface (CI) 110, a user interface (UI) 120, a recording unit 130, aDLNA stack 140, a print job generator 150, and a controller 160.

The communication interface 110 is connected to the DLNA network, andcan share contents with the other control points (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) inthe DLNA network. Specifically, the communication interface 110 performscommunication with the other CPs (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) in the DLNAnetwork according to the UPnP standard, and thus can share contentsstored in the other control points (20-1, 20-2, . . . ).

The term ‘content-for-printing’ (‘content’) includes image data, text,HTML documents, or files for direct printing in the image formingapparatus 200. The ‘direct printing’ is a way of performing print job bysimply transmitting a corresponding file to the image forming apparatus200 without requiring additional file conversion. By way of example,JPG, PDF, or XPS files can be directly printed.

Upon receiving a print command from the user, communication interface110 may search for at least one image forming apparatus 200 connected tothe DLNA. When found, the image forming apparatus 200 may be displayedon the control point apparatus 100 via the user interface 120.

If the user selects the image forming apparatus 200 to perform the printjob, the communication interface 110 may request the selected imageforming apparatus 200 in the DLNA network to perform printing incompliance with the DLNA standard and the DLNA printer standards.Herein, the communication interface 110 may include the connectionpolicy which will be explained below. Specifically, the communicationinterface 110 may transmit to the image forming apparatus 200‘CreateJob2’ or ‘CreateURLJob’. ‘CreateJob2’ and ‘CreateURLJob’ are thecommands requesting printing which can include ‘CriticalAttribute’therein. ‘CreateJob2,’ ‘CreateURLJob,’ and ‘CriticalAttribute’ will beexplained in greater detail below.

The communication interface 110 may receive from the image formingapparatus 200 information such as job ID, or destination URL (totransmit print data to) which may be transmitted in response to thenotification of print job completion.

The communication interface 110 may transmit and receive data to andfrom the image forming apparatus 200. Specifically, the communicationinterface 110 may be connected to the image forming apparatus 200 in avariety of wireless communication methods, such as Near FieldCommunication (NFC), WiFi, or Bluetooth communication, and may transmitto the image forming apparatus 200 the print data generated in the printjob generator 150, which will be explained in detail below, contentpreviously stored in the recording unit 130, and a connection policy ofthe control point 100 generated in the DLNA stack unit 140. Thecommunication interface 110 may receive an ACK signal from the imageforming apparatus 200 as a response to the connection policy. If thecommunication interface 110 does not receive ACK within a predeterminedtime, the communication interface 110 may re-send the connection policyto the image forming apparatus 200.

The communication interface 110 may receive a notification of print jobcompletion from the image forming apparatus 200. Specifically, thecommunication interface 110 may receive the notification of print jobcompletion from the image forming apparatus 200 using wirelesscommunication method such as WiFi, and if the control point 100 is adevice such as a mobile phone which provides a short message service(SMS), the communication interface 110 may receive a notification ofprint job completion via an SMS message.

The UI 120 has a plurality of function keys to enable a user to set orselect various functions supported by the control point 100 and maydisplay various information provided by the control point 100. The UI120 may be applied as a device such as touch pad, through whichconcurrent input and output are possible, or a device combining mouseand monitor. Accordingly, through the user interface window provided bythe UI 120, the user can select at least one piece ofcontent-for-printing. Herein, the user may request to print the contentsor print data stored in the other CPs (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) as well asthe contents stored in the control point 100. Additionally, the user mayselect various printing options related to the content output.

The UI 120 may display the image forming apparatuses 200 found duringthe search. Specifically, the UI 120 may display the image formingapparatuses 200 located in the search via the communication interface110, and may receive a selection for one of the displayed image formingapparatuses 200 as the image forming apparatus 200 to carry out theprint job.

The UI 120 may also receive a user's confirmation regarding thedisconnecting of the DLNA connection. Specifically, prior todisconnecting the DLNA connection from the found image forming apparatus200, the UI 120 may display corresponding information to the user andhave the user confirm the disconnection of the DLNA connection from theimage forming apparatus 200.

The recording unit 130 may store contents. Specifically, the recordingunit 130 may store a variety of contents in advance, and may also recordcontents received from the other control points (20-1, 20-2, . . . )through the communication interface 110. The recording unit 130 may alsostore the print data generated in the print job generator 150 which willbe explained in detail below. The recording unit 130 may be a removabledisk including USB memory, a recording medium connected to the host, ora web server via network.

The DLNA stack unit 140 may control the communication interface 110 toperform communication with the control points (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) orthe image forming apparatus 200 in the DLNA network in compliance withthe DLNA standard and the DLNA printer standard. Specifically, when auser's selection for the image forming apparatus to perform print job isreceived, the DLNA stack unit 140 forms a wireless link to the selectedimage forming apparatus 200 (that is, establishes a connection incompliance with the corresponding wireless communication method), andselectively controls the DLNA connection with the selected image formingapparatus 200 in accordance with the connection policy corresponding tothe location where the content is stored.

Specifically, if the content is stored in an external control point, theDLNA stack unit 140 disconnects the DLNA connection after the print dataregarding the content is transmitted to the selected image formingapparatus 200, and re-connects the DLNA connection to the selected imageforming apparatus 200 if a predetermined time (that is, a time spanningfrom the time of disconnection to the time to start connection) elapses.

If the content is stored in the control point 100, the DLNA stack unit140 disconnects the DLNA connection after the print data is transmittedto the selected image forming apparatus 200, and re-connects the DLNAconnection to the selected image forming apparatus 200 if apredetermined time (that is, a time spanning from the time ofdisconnection to the time to start connection) elapses. Additionally,the DLNA stack unit 140 may re-connect the DLNA connection if apredetermined time elapses, and disconnect (OFF) and connect (ON)periodically in accordance with a predetermined time interval betweenconnection (ON) and disconnection (OFF).

Meanwhile, if the control point 100 is a device such as a mobile phonecapable of SMS reception, the DLNA stack unit 140 may re-connect theDLNA connection to the selected image forming apparatus 200 uponreceiving an SMS message from the image forming apparatus 200 indicatingthat the print job is completed. In one example, the DLNA stack unit 140may receive an SMS message regarding various events such as statuschange, error generation, or the like, which are generated in the imageforming apparatus 200 after the DLNA disconnection. By way of example,if an SMS message is received indicating that the print job iscompleted, the DLNA stack unit 140 may maintain the DLNA disconnectionstatus unless DLNA connection is necessary. For example, the DLNA stackunit 140 may maintain the DLNA disconnection status unless a usercommand is input requesting an additional print.

The DLNA stack unit 140 may generate a connection policy in the controlpoint 100. Specifically, the DLNA stack unit 140 may generate aconnection policy based on the location information about the contentfor which a print command is input. The connection policy may include away of ending a connection (regarding whether to end the connectionafter transmitting the print data, or after transmitting the content),reception information of the control point 100 (that is, addressinformation of the control point 100 to receive a notification of printjob completion, for example, URL and port information, or SMS address ofthe control point 100), or time information of DLNA connection of thecontrol point 100 (for example, time to start connection, time to endconnection, or time interval between connection (ON) and disconnection(OFF). The connection policy generated in the DLNA stack unit 140 willbe explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.

The DLNA stack unit 140 may control the communication interface 110 toinclude the generated connection policy in the notification of print jobcompletion and transmit the notification of print job completion to theselected image forming apparatus 200. Although the DLNA stack unit 140and the communication interface 110 are depicted as separate componentsaccording to an example of the present general inventive concept, thefunctions of the DLNA stack unit 140 and the communication interface 110may be integrated into a single component.

The DLNA stack unit 140 may include memory and logic and a processor, ormay share a processor of the controller 160. The memory and logic may beprogrammed to generate the connection policy and to control theconnection of the communication interface 110 to external DLNA devices.

The print job generator 150 generates print data regarding the content.Specifically, the print job generator 150 may generate XHTML-Print dataregarding the content selected by the user so that the selected contentis output in response to a user's print command. Herein, the print jobgenerator 150 may generate XHTML-Print data using a pre-stored template.Meanwhile, the process of generating print data may be omitted if theuser-selected content is previously-generated XHTML-Print data orXHTML-Print data stored in the other control points (20-1, 20-2, . . .).

The controller 160 controls the respective components of the controlpoint 100. Specifically, upon receiving a print command regarding thecontent through the UI 110, the controller 160 may control the UI 120 todisplay a UI window so that at least one image forming apparatus 200 isselected to perform printing. Accordingly, as the user selects the imageforming apparatus 200, the controller 160 may control the print jobgenerator 150 to generate print data regarding the correspondingcontent. Meanwhile, the above-mentioned process may be omitted, if theuser's print command pertains to the print data stored in the othercontrol points (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) or previously-generated print data.

The controller 160 may store the generated print data in the recordingunit 130. Specifically, this applies when the content is printedrepeatedly. In this case, if a print command regarding the same contentis received, the controller 160 stores the print data generated in theprint job generator 150 to the recording unit 130, so that printing iscarried out efficiently using the previously-stored print data.

The controller 160 may control the communication interface 110 torequest the selected image forming apparatus 200 to perform printing.Specifically, if the user's print command is about the content stored inthe control point 100, the controller 160 may control the communicationinterface 110 to transmit ‘CreateJob2’ to the selected image formingapparatus 200, and if the user's print command is about XHTML-Print datawithin the other CPs (20-1, 20-2, . . . ), the controller 160 maycontrol the communication interface 110 to transmit ‘CreateURLJob’ tothe selected image forming apparatus 200. Herein, the controller 160 maycontrol the communication interface 110 to include the connection policygenerated by the DLNA stack unit 140 in the print request. Specifically,the controller 160 may control the communication interface 110 toinclude the connection policy in ‘CreateJob2’ or ‘CreateURLJob’ in theform of ‘CriticalAttribute’ and to transmit the ‘CreateJob2’ or‘CreateURLJob’.

If receiving print job ID and destination URL from the selected imageforming apparatus 200 as a response to the print request, the controller160 may control the communication interface 110 to transmit thegenerated print data to the selected image forming apparatus 200.Meanwhile, if the user inputs a print command regarding the print datastored in the other CPs (20-1, 20-2, . . . ), the controller 160 maycontrol the communication interface 110 to transmit correspondinginformation to the other CPs (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) so that the print datastored in the other CPs (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) may be transmitted to theselected image forming apparatus 200.

The controller 160 may also control the recording unit 130 and thecommunication interface 110 so that content is transmitted in responseto a request for content transmission made by the selected image formingapparatus 200.

The controller 160 may disconnect and re-connect the DLNA connectionfrom and to the selected image forming apparatus 200 in accordance withthe connection policy. Specifically, if the user's print commandpertains to content within the control point 100, the controller 160 maycontrol the communication interface 110 so that the DLNA connection isended after the corresponding content is transmitted to the selectedimage forming apparatus 200, and if the user's print command pertains tocontent within the other CPs (20-1, 20-2, . . . ), the controller 160may control the communication interface 110 to terminate the DLNAconnection after the print data is transmitted to the image formingapparatus 200. The controller 160 may control the communicationinterface 110 to re-connect the DLNA connection to the selected imageforming apparatus 200 if a predetermined time interval until a time tostart connection according to the connection policy elapses, or if anSMS message is received from the selected image forming apparatus 200.

As explained above, the control point 100 according to the presentgeneral inventive concept is capable of disconnecting a DLNA connectionfrom a selected image forming apparatus 200 according to the connectionpolicy, and thus saving power consumed by the control point 100 tomaintain DLNA connection.

The image forming apparatus 200 may be connected to at least one controlpoint (100, 20-1, 20-2, . . . ) in a wireless communication manner andmay perform a series of print jobs in response to the notification ofprint job completion received from the control point 100.

Herein, the image forming apparatus 200 may include, but is not limitedto, a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, or a multi function peripheralintegrating the printing, facsimile, or scanning functions therein,which is capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from thecontrol point 100 in a wireless communication manner such as near fieldcommunication (NFC), WiFi, or Bluetooth communication.

Referring to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 200 may include acommunication interface (CI) 210, a DLNA stack unit 220, a recordingunit 230, an SMS transmitting unit 240, an image forming unit 250, and acontroller 260.

The communication interface 210 may transmit and receive data to andfrom the CPs (100, 20-1, 20-2, . . . ) in the DLNA network.Specifically, the communication interface 210 may be connected to thecontrol point 100 using various communication methods, such as NFC,WiFi, or Bluetooth communications.

The communication interface 210 may receive a print request from thecontrol point 100 and may transmit corresponding information to the DLNAstack unit 220. The communication interface 210 may transmit anacknowledge signal ACK to the control point 100 in response to thenotification of print job completion received.

The communication interface 210 may receive print data and content fromthe CPs (100, 20-1, 20-2 . . . ) in the DLNA network. Specifically, thecommunication interface 210 may pull the print data (XHTML-Print data)by an HTTP GET method.

The DLNA stack unit 220 may control the communication interface 210 toreceive content and print data regarding the content in response to thenotification of print job completion about the content. Specifically, ifreceiving a print request regarding the content, the DLNA stack unit 220may control the communication interface 210 to notify a correspondingjob ID and a destination URL to the control point 100 as a response. Ifreceiving print data from the control points (100, 20-1, 20-2, . . . ),the DLNA stack unit 220 may request, using the communication interface210, the control points (100, 20-1, 20-2, . . . ) corresponding to thecontent address written in the received print data for the content.

The recording unit 230 may record the received print data and content.Specifically, the recording unit 230 may record the print data andcontent which are received via the communication interface 210. Therecording unit 230 may also record a connection policy included in thenotification of print job completion regarding the content. Therecording unit 230 may be internal or external recording medium of theimage forming apparatus, such as a removable disk including a USBmemory.

If the connection policy contains an SMS reception address of thecontrol point 100, the SMS transmitting unit 240 may transmit to the SMSreception address of the control point 100 an SMS message indicatingthat a printing is completed. The SMS transmitting unit 240 may transmitnot only an SMS message indicating print completion, but also an SMSmessage containing information about various events generated in theimage forming apparatus 200. The image forming apparatus 200 may sendout SMS messages directly or indirectly using an SMS transmitting server30.

The image forming apparatus 250 may print out received content.Specifically, the image forming apparatus 250 may print the contentbased on the print data received via the communication interface 210.

The controller 260 controls the respective components inside the imageforming apparatus 200. Specifically, the controller 260 may control thecommunication interface 210 and the DLNA stack unit 220 to transmit acorresponding job ID and destination URL to the control point 100, ifreceiving a notification of print job completion regarding the contentvia the communication interface 210.

The controller 260 may also control the image forming apparatus 250 toprint out corresponding content based on the received print data, ifreceiving the print data and the content via the communication interface210. Upon completing printing of the corresponding content, thecontroller 260 may notify the control point 100 of the completion ofprinting in accordance with the connection policy included in thereceived notification of print job completion.

Specifically, if an SMS reception address of the control point 100 iswritten in the connection policy, the controller 260 may control the SMStransmitting unit 240 to send out an SMS message to the control point100. If time information is written in the connection policy, thecontroller 260 may control the communication interface 210 to notifycompletion of printing on re-connection time written in the connectionpolicy. The controller 260 may notify the control point 100 whenprinting is completed, after checking the DLNA connection status of thecontrol point 100.

As explained above, the image forming apparatus 200 according to thepresent general inventive concept receives a connection policy from thecontrol point 100, and thus is capable of transmitting a notification ofprint job completion to the control point 100 even when a DLNAconnection between the control point 100 and the image forming apparatus200 is disconnected for a certain period of time.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate examples of connection policy which isgenerated according to the present general inventive concept.

Specifically, FIG. 2A illustrates an example of the connection policywhich includes time information for DLNA connection, and FIG. 2Billustrates an example of the connection policy which includes an SMSreception address.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the connection policy may be transmitted to theimage forming apparatus 200 in the form of ‘CriticalAttribute’ accordingto the DLNA standard. The time information regarding the DLNA connectionbetween the control point 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 iswritten in the connection policy. Specifically, ‘Time_start’ representsa time at which checking on the DLNA connection status of the controlpoint 100 starts so that a notification of print job completion can besent based on the time when the print request is executed. ‘Time_out’information represents the duration of time in which the DLNA connectionstatus of the control point 100 is checked after Time_start’.‘Time_interval’ (interval between connection (ON) and disconnection(OFF)) represents period of checking the DLNA connection status during‘Time_out’.

Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 200 may transmit a notificationof print job completion to the control point 100 using the written timeinformation.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the connection policy includes an SMS receptionaddress of the control point 100. Upon completing the printing, theimage forming apparatus 200 may transmit an SMS indicating thecompletion of printing to the SMS reception address of the control point100.

Although the connection policy includes either SMS reception address orDLNA connection time information of the control point 100 in theexamples explained above according to the present general inventiveconcept, it should be understood that both types of the information maybe transmitted to the image forming apparatus 200, and the image formingapparatus 200 may use the information selectively or both, intransmitting the notification of print job completion to the controlpoint 100.

FIGS. 3 to 6 illustrate views provided to explain an image formingmethod according to the present general inventive concept.

Specifically, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate embodiments in which the timeinformation regarding DLNA connection is transmitted to the imageforming apparatus 200 as the connection policy, while FIGS. 5 and 6illustrate embodiments in which the SMS reception address is transmittedto the image forming apparatus 200 as the connection policy.

Referring to FIG. 3, at operation S301, the control point 100 transmits‘CreateJob2’ to the image forming apparatus 200 to thereby requestprinting. ‘CreateJob2’ may include the connection policy (that is,‘CriticalAttribute’) as illustrated in FIG. 2A.

At operation S303, in response to ‘CreateJob2’, the image formingapparatus 200 analyzes the received connection policy, and at operationS305, transmits a job ID and a destination URL (‘Datasink’) to thecontrol point 100.

At operation S307, the control point 100 transmits print data to theimage forming apparatus 200 using the ‘Datasink’ received. At operationS313, the control point 100 checks an address at which the content islocated (‘referenced image URL’) within the print data transmitted tothe image forming apparatus 200, and disconnects WiFi connection if thetransmitted print data does not have the referenced image URL, or if thereferenced image URL corresponds to the other control point (20-1, 20-2,. . . ). Since the control point 100 does not have to maintain WiFiconnection for the entire duration of performing the print job, lesspower is consumed.

Meanwhile, at operation S315, if the transmitted print data includes thereferenced image URL, the WiFi connection is maintained so thatcorresponding content is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 200in response to the request of the image forming apparatus 200.

At operation S317, if the referenced image URL corresponds to the othercontrol point (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) the image forming apparatus 200 mayrequest the corresponding control point 20-1 to transmit the content andreceive the content as a response.

At operation S319, the image forming apparatus 200 may print thereceived content according to the received print data. At operationS321, the DLNA stack unit 220 (or ‘CP Wi-Fi LINK Checker’) of the imageforming apparatus 200 receives a notification of print job completion(‘JobEndNotification’). At operation S325, the DLNA stack unit 220 waitsuntil the time (operation S323) at which the WiFi connection of thecontrol point 100 is re-connected according to the time informationwritten in the connection policy. At operation S327, the DLNA stack unit220 checks to determine if the DLNA connection of the control point 100is re-connected (ON). Then, at operation S329, the DLNA stack unit 220notifies the control point 100 of the ‘JobEndNotification’.

Referring to FIG. 4, at operation S401, the control point 100 transmits‘CreateURLJob’ to the image forming apparatus 200, requesting to performprinting. ‘CreateURLJob’ includes the same connection policy (i.e.,‘CriticalAttribute’) as illustrated in FIG. 2A. ‘CreateURLJob’ is theinformation to notify the image forming apparatus 200 to carry outprinting, and difference from ‘CreateJob2’ is that ‘CreateURLJob’includes URL information at which print data is stored. Accordingly,difference from FIG. 3 is that not only the control point 100 cantransmit the print data (operation S411), but also the other controlpoint (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) can transmit the print data (operation S413).Except for the above-mentioned difference, the remaining operations areidentical to those explained above with reference to FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 5, at operation S501, the control point 100 transmits‘CreateJob2’ to the image forming apparatus 200, thereby requesting tocarry out printing. ‘CreateJob2’ includes the same connection policy(‘CriticalAttribute’) as illustrated in FIG. 2B.

Upon receiving ‘CreateJob2’ request, at operation S503, the imageforming apparatus 200 analyzes the received connection policy, and atoperation S505, notifies a job ID and a destination URL (‘Datasink’) tothe control point 100.

At operation S507, the control point 100 transmits the print data to theimage forming apparatus 200 using the received ‘Datasink’. At operationS509, the control point 100 checks an address at which the content islocated (‘referenced image URL’) in the print data transmitted to theimage forming apparatus 200, and at operation S511, disconnects WiFiconnection if the referenced image URL is not written in the transmittedprint data, or if the referenced image URL corresponds to the othercontrol point (20-1, 20-2, . . . ).

Meanwhile, at operation S513, if the referenced image URL exists in thetransmitted print data, the WiFi connection is maintained so that thecorresponding content is transmitted to the requesting image formingapparatus 200.

At operation S515, if the referenced image URL corresponds to the othercontrol point (20-1, 20-2, . . . ), the image forming apparatus 200requests the corresponding other control point (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) totransmit the content, and receive the requested content as a response.

At operation S517, the image forming apparatus 200 prints the receivedcontent according to the received print data. At operation S519, the SMStransmitting unit 240 of the image forming apparatus 200 receives anotification of print job completion (‘JobEndNotification’), and atoperation S521, notifies the ‘JobEndNotification’ to the SMS receptionaddress written in the connection policy.

Referring to FIG. 6, at operation S601, the control point 100 transmits‘CreateURLJob’ to the image forming apparatus 200, thereby requesting tocarry out printing. ‘CreateURLJob’ includes the same connection policy(‘CriticalAttribute’) as illustrated in FIG. 2B. ‘CreateURLJob’ is acommand requesting the image forming apparatus 200 to carry out printingprocess, and has a difference from ‘CreateJob2’ in that ‘CreateURLJob’includes the URL information to receive the print data. Accordingly,operation different from FIG. 5 is operation at operation S609 in whichthe other control point (20-1, 20-2, . . . ) may also transmit the printdata. The rest operations illustrated in FIG. 6 are identical to thoseexplained above with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart provided to explain a method ofcontrolling printing in the control point according to the presentgeneral inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 7, at operation S701, if a user command to print thecontent is received at operation S703, a control point 100 searches foran image forming apparatus 200 that is connected via DLNA. At operationS705, the image forming apparatuses 200 found by the above search aredisplayed to the user, so that the user can select the image formingapparatus 200 to perform printing from among the displayed image formingapparatuses 200.

At operation S707, print data is generated corresponding to the contentthat is the basis of the print command. The operation S707 may beskipped if the user's printing command corresponds to the print dataalready generated in the other control points (20-1, 20-2, . . . ).

At operation S709, a connection policy is generated, and at operationS711 the generated connection policy and the print request aretransmitted to the selected image forming apparatus 200.

At operation S713, if a job ID and a destination URL are received fromthe image forming apparatus 200 as a response to the print request, theprint data is transmitted to the received destination URL. At operationS715, if the user's printing command corresponds to the content storedin the control point 100, the requested content may be transmitted tothe selected image forming apparatus 200 as a response to the request ofthe image forming apparatus 200.

At operation S717, according to the connection policy corresponding tothe location at which the content is stored, it is possible toselectively control the status of DLNA connection to the selected imageforming apparatus 200. Specifically, if the content is stored in theother control point (20-1, 20-2 . . . ), the DLNA connection may bedisconnected after the print data regarding the content is transmittedto the selected image forming apparatus 200, while if the content isstored in the control point 100, the DLNA connection may be disconnectedafter the content is transmitted to the selected image forming apparatus200.

At operation S719, if a predetermined time (Time_start) elapses from thetime of DLNA disconnection, or if SMS MESSAGE is received from theselected image forming apparatus 200, the DLNA connection may bere-connected to the selected image forming apparatus and a notificationof print job completion may be received.

According to the method for controlling printing of the control pointexplained above, since it is possible to selectively disconnect the DLNAconnection to the selected image forming apparatus 200 according to theconnection policy, power consumed to maintain the DLNA connection issaved. The method for controlling printing illustrated in FIG. 7 may beapplied to not only the control point 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, butalso the other control point with different constitutions.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart provided to explain a method forcontrolling printing of an image forming apparatus according to thepresent general inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 8, at operation S801, a print request regarding thecontrol point 100 is received from the control point 100. The printrequest includes a connection policy of the control point 100.

The content and print data corresponding to the content are received asa response to the print request. Specifically, at operation S805, if‘CreateJob2’ is received as a print request, print data is received fromthe control point 100 requesting the printing, and at operation S807,the content is received via the content address in the received printdata. If ‘CreateURLJob’ is received as the print request, the print datamay be received via the URL address written in the received‘CreateURLJob’ (operation S805), and the content may be received via thecontent address in the received print data (operation S807).

At operation S809, the received content may be printed based on thereceived print data. At operation S813, a notification of print jobcompletion regarding the content may be sent based on the receivedconnection policy. Specifically, if the received connection policyincludes SMS reception address, an SMS indicating the completion ofprinting may be transmitted to the SMS reception address. If thereceived connection policy includes the time information regarding DLNAconnection, at operation S811, the DLNA connection status of the controlpoint 100 is checked based on the time information (that is, Time_start)of the connection policy, and transmits a notice of the completion ofprinting to the control point 100 by the wireless communication method.

As described above, with the method of controlling printing of the imageforming apparatus according to the present general inventive concept,since a connection policy is received from the control point 100, anotification of print job completion can be transmitted to the controlpoint 100 even when the DLNA connection between the control point 100and the image forming apparatus 200 is disconnected for a certain periodof time.

FIG. 9 illustrates another flowchart of an embodiment of communicatingbetween a control point and an image-forming apparatus. In operationS900, the control point connects to the image forming apparatus. Thecontrol point may transmit a print request and/or a job ID, for example.The control point may also generate and transmit a connection policy tothe control point.

The control point may determine in operation S902 if the datatransmission to the image forming apparatus is complete. For example, ifthe print data is located within the control point, the connectionbetween the control point and the image forming apparatus may remainactive to transmit the print data. On the other hand, if the print datais located on another device external to the control point, the controlpoint or the image forming apparatus may terminate communicationsbetween the devices in operation S904. In addition, even when the printdata is located on the control point, such as in memory in the controlpoint, the control point may terminate communications after the printdata has been transmitted.

Terminating or turning off communications may include turning off acommunication port so that data that is on the port is ignored, turningoff a wireless transceiver, ignoring data from the address correspondingto the image-forming apparatus, or any other appropriate method toconserve power in the control point. The turned off communications maybe considered an idle mode, a power save mode, a default mode, or asimilar power-saving mode.

Once the communication is terminated, the control point may determine inoperation S906 whether a predetermined period of time has lapsed. Thepredetermined period of time may be set by the connection policy. Oncethe predetermined period of time has lapsed, the control point or theimage forming apparatus may re-connect with the other device inoperation S910 to communicate regarding the print operation. Since thecontrol point transmitted the connection policy to the image formingapparatus in operation S900, the image forming apparatus may beprogrammed to transmit the data regarding the print operation at thepredetermined period of time, or at predetermined intervals of time.

In addition, if the predetermined period of time has not lapsed, thecontrol point may determine in operation S908 whether a key is pressedby a user, and if the key is pressed, the control point may resumecommunications with the image forming apparatus in operation S910.

The present general inventive concept can also be embodied ascomputer-readable codes on a computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium can include a computer-readable recordingmedium and a computer-readable transmission medium. Thecomputer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that canstore data as a program which can be thereafter read by a computersystem. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium includeread-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, DVDs,magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices. Thecomputer-readable recording medium can also be distributed over networkcoupled computer systems so that the computer-readable code is storedand executed in a distributed fashion. The computer-readabletransmission medium can transmit carrier waves or signals (e.g., wiredor wireless data transmission through the Internet). Also, functionalprograms, codes, and code segments to accomplish the present generalinventive concept can be easily construed by programmers skilled in theart to which the present general inventive concept pertains.

Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept havebeen shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in theart that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing fromthe principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope ofwhich is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control point apparatus connectable to one ormore image forming apparatuses using digital living network alliance(DLNA), the control point apparatus comprising: a communicationinterface to search the one or more image forming apparatuses using theDLNA; a user interface (UI) unit through which at least one piece ofcontent is selected for printing using a user interface of the controlpoint apparatus, and through which an image forming apparatus isselected from among the searched image forming apparatuses to performprinting; a DLNA stack unit to set a connection policy regardingconnection to the selected image forming apparatus, and to selectivelycontrol the DLNA connection status to the selected image formingapparatus according to the connection policy, the DLNA stack unitdisconnecting the control point apparatus from the selected imageforming apparatus after print data corresponding to the selectedcontent-for-printing has been transmitted to the selected image formingapparatus, or connecting and disconnecting the control point apparatusfrom the selected image forming apparatus at predetermined intervals oftime; and a controller to control the communication interface totransmit the print data corresponding to the selectedcontent-for-printing and the connection policy to the selected imageforming apparatus, and to re-send the connection policy to the selectedimage forming apparatus if an acknowledgement in response to theconnection policy is not received from the selected image-formingapparatus within a predetermined time.
 2. The control point apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the connection policy comprises at least one of: mannerof ending connection, time to start connection, time to end connection,time interval between connected status (ON) and disconnected status(OFF), and reception information of the control point.
 3. The controlpoint apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reception information of thecontrol point apparatus comprises address information of the controlpoint to receive a notification of print job completion.
 4. The controlpoint apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DLNA stack unit maintains thecontrol point in a disconnected status (OFF) until a notification ofprint job completion is received from the selected image formingapparatus according to the connection policy, or periodically connects(ON) and disconnects (OFF) the control point from the selected imageforming apparatus to receive the notification of print job completionfrom the selected image forming apparatus.
 5. The control pointapparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication interface receives aresponse to the transmitted connection policy from the selected imageforming apparatus.
 6. The control point apparatus of claim 1, wherein,if the content-for-printing is stored in an external control point, theDLNA stack unit disconnects the DLNA connection from the selected imageforming apparatus after print data corresponding to thecontent-for-printing is transmitted to the selected image formingapparatus, and if the content-for-printing is stored in the controlpoint, the DLNA stack disconnects the DLNA connection from the selectedimage forming apparatus after the content-for-printing is transmitted tothe selected image forming apparatus.
 7. The control point apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the DLNA stack unit re-connects the DLNA connection tothe selected image forming apparatus if a predetermined time elapsesfrom the time at which the DLNA connection is disconnected from theselected image forming apparatus or if a short message service (SMS) isreceived from the selected image forming apparatus.
 8. A method ofcontrolling printing of a control point apparatus which is connectableto one or more image forming apparatuses using digital living networkalliance (DLNA), the method comprising: selecting one or morecontent-for-printing using a user interface (UI) of the control pointapparatus; searching for one or more image forming apparatuses using theDLNA; selecting an image forming apparatus to perform printing fromamong the image forming apparatuses identified in the search; setting aconnection policy regarding connection to the selected image formingapparatus; transmitting print data and the connection policycorresponding to the selected content-for-printing to the selected imageforming apparatus; re-sending the connection policy to the selectedimage forming apparatus if an acknowledgement in response to theconnection policy is not received from the selected image-formingapparatus within a predetermined time; and selectively controlling theDLNA connection to the selected image forming apparatus according to theconnection policy to disconnect the control point apparatus from theselected image forming apparatus after the print data has beentransmitted to the selected image forming apparatus, or to connect anddisconnect the control point apparatus from the selected image formingapparatus at predetermined intervals of time.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the connection policy comprises at least one of a manner ofterminating connection, a time to start connection, a time to endconnection, a time interval between connected status (ON) anddisconnected status (OFF), and reception information of the controlpoint apparatus.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the receptioninformation of the control point apparatus comprises address informationof the control point apparatus to receive a notification of print jobcompletion.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the selectivelyconnecting the DLNA connection comprises: maintaining a disconnectedstatus (OFF) of the control point apparatus from the selected imageforming apparatus until a notification of print job completion isreceived from the selected image forming apparatus according to theconnection policy, or periodically connecting (ON) and disconnecting(OFF) the connection to receive the notification of print job completionfrom the selected image forming apparatus.
 12. The method of claim 8,further comprising receiving a response to the transmitted connectionpolicy from the selected image forming apparatus.
 13. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the selectively controlling the DLNA connectioncomprises: if the content-for-printing is stored in an external controlpoint apparatus, disconnecting the DLNA connection from the selectedimage forming apparatus after print data regarding thecontent-for-printing is transmitted to the selected image formingapparatus, and if the content-for-printing is stored in the controlpoint apparatus, disconnecting the DLNA connection from the selectedimage forming apparatus after the content-for-printing is transmitted tothe selected image forming apparatus.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the selectively controlling the DLNA connection comprises:re-connecting the DLNA connection to the selected image formingapparatus if a predetermined time elapses from the time at which theDLNA connection is disconnected from the selected image formingapparatus or if a short message service (SMS) is received from theselected image forming apparatus.
 15. A control point apparatus of adigital living network alliance (DLNA) network including at least oneimage forming apparatus, comprising: a user interface to initiate aprint operation; a DLNA stack unit to generate a connection policy tocontrol a DLNA connection between the control point apparatus and theimage forming apparatus, the DLNA stack unit disconnecting the controlpoint apparatus from the image forming apparatus after print datacorresponding to the print operation has been transmitted to the imageforming apparatus, or connecting and disconnecting the control pointapparatus from the image forming apparatus at predetermined intervals oftime; a communication interface to transmit to the image formingapparatus the connection policy and the print data corresponding to theprint operation; and a controller to control the communication interfaceto transmit the connection policy and print data to the image formingapparatus, to re-send the connection policy to the image formingapparatus if an acknowledgement in response to the connection policy isnot received from the image forming apparatus within a predeterminedtime, and to control a connection status between the communicationinterface and the image forming apparatus according to the connectionpolicy.
 16. The control point apparatus according to claim 15, thecontroller controls the communication interface such that when the printdata is transmitted to the image forming apparatus from a deviceexternal to the control point apparatus, the controller disconnects thecontrol point apparatus from the image forming apparatus aftertransmitting the print request and connection policy, and when the printdata is transmitted to the image forming apparatus from the controlpoint apparatus, the controller maintains a data connection between thecontrol point apparatus and the image forming apparatus during acorresponding print operation of the image forming apparatus.
 17. Thecontrol point apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, afterdisconnecting the control point apparatus from the image formingapparatus, the controller further re-connects the control pointapparatus to, and disconnects the control point apparatus from, theimage forming apparatus at predetermined intervals of time to receivedata from the image forming apparatus regarding the corresponding printoperation.
 18. The control point apparatus according to claim 16,wherein, when the print data is transmitted to the image formingapparatus from a device external to the control point apparatus, thecommunication interface receives an SMS message regarding a completionof the corresponding print operation when the corresponding printoperation is completed.